Federal High Court Judge, Idrissa Saleh , Discharges Himself From Hospital, Goes Missing

A Federal High Court judge, Justice Idrissa Saleh, has been declared missing after he went out in a taxi and has not returned home since Saturday.

It was learnt that his family, who are worried about his safety, reported the incident to the police after Saleh failed to return home after discharging himself from a hospital at the Central Business District, Abuja.

A family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the judge left the hospital where he was being treated for an undisclosed ailment without informing the management.

He said, “Justice Saleh was admitted to the hospital and he left in a taxi without disclosing his whereabouts to anyone.

The management of the hospital was not aware of his movement.

“I think he has a problem which he hasn’t shared with anyone. But the police are treating it as a missing person’s case and they are searching for him.”

Our correspondent learnt that the judge was not with his phone, making it difficult for the police to find him.

The Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory, Bala Ciroma, confirmed the incident. He said they had launched investigation into the matter.

Asked if he believed the judge was kidnapped, he said it was too early to jump to a conclusion

Mr Saleh, from Yobe State, holds the traditional title of ‘Dan Amar of Fika’ in Fika, Yobe State.

According to the Federal High Court website, he was born on June 23, 1965, and had his primary and secondary school education in Yobe.

He graduated from the University of Maiduguri in 1992 and the Nigerian Law School in 1993.

Mr Saleh worked in the Yobe justice ministry and the Federal Inland Revenue Service before a he became a federal high court judge in 2015.